Thought i'd start a new thread as the other one hasnt been updated in over a month! Share coments/reviews etc here!

Sat May 29, 2010 12:00 pm

The Little Fellow

Fresh Face

Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 4:03 amPosts: 14

Re: Sister Act - New discussion thread

I saw Sister Act twice in the West End - once before Whoopi, and once when Whoopi was in it! Both were absolutely amazing. It was kinda weird to see Whoopi playing Mother Superior instead of Delores, though, but it is such a feel good musical! What a shame that it's ending soon

While discussion about this show has stalled somewhat (other threads are available here and here, I thought that with the Broadway show having opened, it might be worthwhile having a look at some of the reviews from the show, the book of which has apparently been revised extensively since the London production opened.

The full set of reviews can be found on StageGrade, where the average grade given to the show is a B+. As in London, the critical reception has been mixed, although there have been raves for Patina Miller and Victoria Clark. Some snippets:

Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater provide original tunes that nod cheekily, but with genuine affection, to that pop era while also propelling the story with a style and exuberance specific to well-crafted musical theater. Librettists Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, enlisting additional material from Douglas Carter Beane, adapt the screenplay with disarming wryness.

I wish I could report that the singing nuns from the Church of Philly Soul are giving those perky Mormons in Africa a run for their money in the unholy hilarity department. But when the jubilant choral numbers subside, as inevitably they must, Sister Act slumps back into bland musical-theater grooves and mostly lacks the light of invigorating inspiration... With the exception of a couple of... roof raisers, the songs in Sister Act are more serviceable than memorable.

New tuner has various assets that place it comfortably in the feel-good entertainment category, and might have launched it to the top last season or even three months ago. But timing is everything. Sister Act comes in on the heels of a handful of musicals, including another disco-beat film adaptation (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), and comparisons are not favorable.

With everything reduced to flat, musical-comedy-winking insouciance (seriously, hyperkinetic 40-year-old altar boys?), and nothing treated as if it matters to anyone (and with toenail-deep direction from Jerry Zaks to match), this is Sister Act: Las Vegas through and through.